Like it. Quite a lot. Wasn't sure at first: the first chapter has a nice balance of fighting, "talking quests", and against-the-clock kind of puzzles. But the second "chapter" is VERY talk-heavy. Lots of quests that involve talking to people to find something out, then using that info when talking to someone else. A couple of battles, but not many. And even though I love this sort of game, I was getting a bit of "uh-oh, Biomass have let me down".
But chapter 3 kicked in (well, my chapter 3, since once you get past the second bit, you're in control of a ship and can travel to a number of different planets). So - the place I went to: Another nice balance, but tougher battles now that you know how to fight and your characters are gaining skills. Unfortunately, I've got to the boss.
Now, in most games, the sequence is as follows:
A - player is in a nice safe area B - move onward, and get a cutscene with the big bad boss who reveals their master plans, twirls their moustaches, laughs manically, strokes their furry white pussy, etc. C - fight ensues, probably with no save ability since you're currently dodging bullets, and the boss kicks the players ass. D - player loads the last safe. Gets to point A again. Stocks up on anti-boss special ammo, whips out the big guns, stacks up temporary boosts, etc. E - run the cutscene again. And here's where it gets interesting.
E - Option 1: Player is given the option of pressing a key to SKIP THE FUCKING CUT SCENE. After all, they've seen it once already. E - Option 2: There is a second or two's pause before the fight starts, allowing the player a chance to save the game AFTER THE FUCKING CUTSCENE but before the fight.
F - Fight ensues again. If player dies again, they go back to D and can SKIP THE FUCKING CUTSCENE, or E.2, where they've got the save AFTER THE FUCKING CUTSCENE G - fight ensues, ad nauseam H - eventually player wins.
As you might have guessed already, Mass Effect goes for E option 3: "Don't allow the player to save after the cutscene, and don't allow them to skip it - make them watch it every fucking time."
And although I've played this on normal difficulty, I've notched back to Easy for this fight, and still get my ass wooped.
This bit of the game SUCKS big time. Someone obviously didn't do a proper UAT on this bit of the game. I'm sick of the fucking cutscene....
Had a quick look at the FAQs etc online, and the advice is "take it steady, and kill the boss's henchmen". Not that easy in practice....
OK, finally, Madjock has buggered off and given, sorry, I mean loaned, me his Xbox 360 to look after while he's away. And about bloody time too. Jesus, I wondered if he was ever going to leave.
So, here's my thoughts so far.
Assassins Creed A bit like a super model. Beautiful to look at. But not much going on really. I'm only on the second mission, and already I can see how the other 7 are going to turn out. Might not finish this one.
Looks: 100% (stunning in close-up and long-shot) Originality: 30% (very similar approach to the first "assassin" game on the xbox by the same company - Sam was the agent's name, forget the game name). Playability: 80% (works well) Keeping It Interesting: 20% (will get boring real quick)
Halo 3 Not too impressed so far. The extra vehicles and devices are nice, but not really ground-breaking. I'll finish it, just to wrap up the story, but I'm not in a rush.
Looks: 70% (pretty good improvement on Halo 2) Originality: 20% (as compared to Halo 2) Playability: 80% (if you know Halo 1 & 2, this is the same thing) Keeping It Interesting: 50% (the story is worth following, but the gameplay is very familiar)
Half-life 2 I never quite got around to finishing the original, but I like both that and version 2. I must admit, 10 minutes into the game and getting chased out of a residential building by the masked "police" had my heart-thumping. Then of course later, I realised they can't shoot for toffee and you can take a score of them on with a safety pin and still win. At least on the level I was playing. Still, nice game. I've just gotten the gravity gun, and I've heard that livens things up a bit.
Looks: 60% (nice looking, but nothing particularly special, but then it's a bit older I think than the others) Originality: 30% (some nice touches, but otherwise a standard FPS) Playability: 80% (nice pace, short-ish levels, nice frequency of save points) Keeping It Interesting: 70% (good developing storyline, nice glimpses of things to come, eg you see a tall "War of the Worlds"-like alien strider very early on, but only in long-distance shot)
Mass Effect Just got it. Can't comment. And creaming pants till I can play tonight. The Wee Man has got an eye infection again, so I'm having to look after him today, so no Xbox. BigAndiD is wondering if the alien sex scene was worth the media uproar, which is about par for the course. For Andi, not the media, I mean :-)
Xbox itself Noisy, bulky. Having not paid attention in the past, I'd assumed it was the fan that was noisy. But it seems to be the DVD player - is that right? Or is it that the fan only kicks in when the DVD starts? Bugger me it's noisy. The Missus was worried about the noise from the TV, but I was more worried about the noise from the box itself.
Here's my thinking: I'm unemployed as of 31st Jan. If I get a job offer, I'm sure I can say "please let me not start till 1st March". Which gives me a month off, to play Mass Effect, which, from the latest in-game demos, is looking pretty good.
Loved it! (The beauty of keeping a list of films that came out months ago and watching them now, is that the ones with shit reviews get removed from my list, so I keep seeing great films).
Somewhat predictable twist to give the dynamic tension that a plot needs, but well played nevertheless. Nice ending. Action was pretty good, characterisation OK, acting good - some old names in it as well as Mark Wahlberg (spelling?). All round, a well-spent 90 minutes or so
Song of the Week: Budget Meeting
An odd title for the music overlaying the main battle scene in the much-maligned King Arthur, and the tune (in fact, the entire soundtrack) is Hans Zimmer amped up. Everything he developed starting with Crimson Tide - drums, male choir, brass, etc - to make his recognisable sound has been thrown in here and the dials twisted to 150%. A lot of people have reviewed it saying "Hans, do something different for a change", but I feel that this is archetypal, yes, but still powerful.
This particular track is 7 or 10 minutes long (one version is the one from the film, the other version is a different mix), so it comprises several different sections with slightly different feels. A powerful bit, possibly my favourite of this "triumphant" music, kicks in around 4:30 into the film version. A real driving drum beat, with a choir soft in the background, and muted brass giving a motif that can be heard in a few of the tracks in the OST.
For MadJock's benefit, it starts at 2:37 into this Battlestar Galactica mash-up thing:
Edit: Actually, for some reason when I watched this on youtube.com, I could see the time since start + total time, but when embedded here, it's "time left" that I'm seeing. In which case it's 3:55 remaining.
Odd.
Anyway, another one that I want to listen to when I get the surround sound fitted. Or when I get a car with a nice stereo. I think the car's coming sooner....
World Of Warcraft Update
Two words: Pish. Uninstalled.
How they call it "role playing" I'll never know. RPG via a PC changed the day that Baldur's Gate was released. I know WoW is "MMORPG", but it's really "MMO Hack And Slash". Old idea. Very boring. Great for 14 year old virgin American geeks.
But it reminded me I had a copy of Warcraft III, a "demons, zombies, and elves" version of Command and Conquer, and I'm happily playing that when I get some spare time. Good game, even now.
